


I Slept, I Worked, I Paid My Rent

by elizabethvaughan



Series: Braindead Alternate Universe (From Season Two on) [8]
Category: BrainDead (TV)
Genre: Also please know this "series" we keep posting has no official order yet, F/M, Probably really cliché, Washington D.C., adult kids, kids leaving for college AU, post-kids Laurel and Gareth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 14:24:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10220231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabethvaughan/pseuds/elizabethvaughan
Summary: When you've spent your life chasing down something, what happens when the journey comes to an end?





	

They had just finished dropping Louise off at her new dorm room at Princeton. Gareth spent the entire drive home worrying out loud about her, and Laurel was about ready to kill him by the time they pulled into the driveway. Lugging their bags from the trunk, they climbed the steps as Laurel located her key. Noticing Gareth was staring blankly at the door, she tapped him lightly on the shoulder.  
“Hello? Anyone home? Let’s go inside and get some alcohol and go to bed.”  
He kept staring at the door, and it was only after a few seconds that he replied to her.  
“It’s going to be so quiet Laurel. Now they’re all gone. No more loudmouth Louise to make noise or keep us awake.”  
She tugged on his arm gently. “I know. So let’s go get in bed and enjoy the quiet.” He lowered his head as though he was embarrassed. When he spoke, his voice was hardly above a whisper. “I don’t want to. I miss them.”  
Laurel gaped at him. “Are you serious? Charlotte’s been gone for four years now, and Jacob since last year. Louise has been dying to leave for months. Why suddenly miss them now?”  
“I miss them as kids, Laurel. I miss them being little and needing us all the time. I miss them all playing together and us being a family. Don’t you miss it too?” He gave her a long, beseeching look as though she had just confessed that she beat puppies and he wanted her to reassure him that it wasn’t true.  
“No.” She retorted firmly. “No, I really don’t.” Before he could respond, she held up her hand. “I did my parenting. I put in my time. Twenty-two years of it, to be exact. I got pregnant three times. I gave birth three times. I took pills for my blood pressure and pills for depression and pills for exhaustion. I worked my job. I paid the morgage. I fixed the car. I did homework and cleaned cuts and wiped tears and made dinners and drove to the beach and brushed hair and brushed teeth and cleaned up messes and cleaned up vomit and didn’t sleep and laughed and cried and panicked. I love my kids. But I am so glad they are adults with their own exciting lives and interests and personalities. And I am looking forward to it just being us. Can we just be us for a while? Can we go back to work and drop by each other’s offices and tease each other like we used to and not talk about what we need from the grocery or who needs to be where at what time? Can we fight at fancy dinners and make up afterwards? Can we go on the romantic vacation we never got to take because we were too busy saving the government? Can I work on a personal project without being interrupted every five minutes? I feel like my entire adult life has been about trying to fix something or pay someone or stop a catastrophe from happening. Can I just enjoy it being over for a change? I just want to be. That’s what I want to do with my life right now.” Despite the words she spoke, her tone wasn’t angry or resentful or even frustrated. It was just firm and decisive and calm. She stood with her arms crossed across her chest, searching his face with her eyes to gauge his reaction to her words.  
Gareth took a minute to consider what she had said, still staring at the blue-painted door to their house. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face her. “Laurel, I am so proud of you. You lived a life you never thought you wanted. You worked a job you never thought you wanted. And you made both of them look so easy. You raised three smart, educated children and were always there when they needed you. You always finished your work on time and did it to the best of your ability. You helped your brother become the president of the united states. And even when I could see you were miserable or hurting or panicking, no one ever saw it. You made my dreams of having a family and being a senator come true because you made a sacrifice I don’t know someone else in your position could have or would have done. If you want it to be your turn, I think that’s fair.” As he finished, he opened his arms to invite her for a hug, and she accepted immediately. They stood together for a few minutes, watching the last rays of August sun fade over the houses. Just as Laurel was about to suggest that they head inside before it got dark, Gareth spoke up.  
“I still miss them, you know. Just thought I’d be honest.”  
Laurel smiled and buried her face into his shoulder. “I know. I’ll miss them too.” She admitted.  
“But please, I want to hear more about this vacation we’re now planning. Do tell?” Gareth asked her playfully.  
Laurel laughed and pulled him down so he was leaning on top of her against the door. “Why don’t we start planning it now?” She whispered against his neck.

**Author's Note:**

> This little piece was inspired by my recent trip to NYC, where I was lucky enough to see the Broadway show In Transit for the second time. I actually ended up liking it a lot more the second time around, and came away with a few songs stuck in my head. This fic was inspired when two lines from the show ("I slept, I worked, I paid my rent" and "Jane, just be") combined in my head during a particularly boring shower. In this story, Gareth and Laurel are in their early-to-mid fifties. Anyway, this is one of the rare fics we post that one of the two of us wrote without help from the other person. Hope ya'll enjoy, and go see In Transit if you have the chance!
> 
> ~ Winona


End file.
